 | The Reverend Doctor Cathy Northrup was born in Ft. Meade, MD, and was raised in a variety of places in the United State and Germany, as her father was in Counter Intelligence with the Army. She graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Hamline University in St. Paul, MN, with a double major in English and Religion. She graduated from Georgetown Law Center in Washington, DC, and practiced law with the Federal Reserve Board for a number of years before attending Union Theological Seminaryin Richmond, VA. She graduated from Union, and served several churches in North and South Carolina, at the same time obtaining her Doctor of Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, NJ. Dr. Northrup is currently the Pastor/Head of Staff of First Presbyterian Church, Wichita, KS. She is married and has two black Labrador dogs who were rescued from abusive situations. You can contact Dr. Northrup at cnorthrup@firstpresbywichita.org or by phone at (316) 263-0248, ext. 26. |
Religion
2010-10-01 11:45:00
The particular and final judgments
Answer: It’s already upon us...
You might find what Billy Graham has said about judgment helpful; he has said that there are three judgments. The first is that we have already been judged for our sins, and Christ has taken that judgment upon himself in his death on the cross. The second is the judgment of individuals at the end of time. The third is the daily self-judgment we should make of ourselves, a continual self-examination of our daily lives.
Presbyterians would not generally disagree with Graham’s explanation, though there is a wide spectrum of belief on this issue among Presbyterians. We, like Graham, assert that there has already been one judgment, in a sense, in that Jesus submitted to judgment on the cross for our sake. And though many of us would like to leave judgment at that, we must also note that scripture speaks of a day of judgment, and though we do not and cannot fully understand how that will work, we cannot ignore the words of scripture about it. Further, we affirm in the Apostles Creed, with other Christians, that Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead.
